I like the idea of research better, so that you can get publications. A consideration would be to do 2 years of research. Since it takes usually months for something to get accepted, plus applications have to be complete by Oct, I think there is no time to get anything accepted for publication if one decides to do research for just one year.

there are twice as many applicants as spots so yes it does happen. as far as 2 years of research ... are you f- kidding me? who wants to do 1, let alone 2? i don't see a program being wowed unless it's ground breaking stuff. most important is that you're doing something ortho related and seem committed to research. also paying spots are hard to come by. a few places have an unadvertised research spot or house officer spot. HI,patterson, lenox hill to name a few.
if you do a prelim, you may want to consider a place that has ortho res., if you think you can impress them in a month rotation. the surg department is prob desperate enough that they let you rotate off service. with the 80 week surg shouldn't be as bad. worst year of my life.
it would be nice to start a back up residency but i think interviewers would be like WTF. -johnny ringo (yeah orthofixation, i'm still bitter) )

Typical med school finishes around the end of May, away rotations may take 2-3 months, and so now your "1 year of research" year has become a 1-2 month stint before applications are due. No way someone can work on a project, write it, submit it, and have it approved for publication in 1-2 months. "Submitted" for a paper means nothing next to "In-Press" or "Approved." For somemone who doesn't match the first time around it would be unrealistic to think that the application would be that much better if applying for the very next year. Better to get some stuff published and then spend quality time impressing the programs. Just my thoughts, but I don't think it is crazy. Paying research jobs are not that hard to come by,including NIH sponsored fellowhips, you just have to look for them since they are not readily advertised. It is like looking for a regular job- networking, networking.

To add my two cents. I did not match last year and did a prelim spot. I truely believe that this is the way to go if you don't match. It gives you the most options by far. If you do research your only option is re-enter the match for intern spots. By doing a prelim year in surgery you can look for PGY2 spots as well as re-enter the match. Other options are you may decide ortho is not for you and you could find pyg-2 spots in rads, surgery, etc without repeating your internship. But if your dead set on Ortho you could go into the lab after your internship and that way you could look for PGY2 spots or reapply in the match. I lucked out this year and landed a PGY2 spot, so it does happen. There were a bunch of PGY2 spots that opened up this year nationally(10-15) much more then what was availible during the scramble(4).
Essentially, my advise to anyone who doesn't match would be do a prelim year and work you ass off. Create your own luck by putting yourself in position for people to help you. Doing a good job clinically can put you over the hump. If you don't match it is not the end of the world and your orthopedic career is not over. Good luck :pimp:

SITS,
if you would
where did you get a spot and is there anything else you think helped seal the deal? (new letter phone call on your behalf)

thanks

to SITS or anyone with some words of wisdom for prelim-ers,
what is the best way to find out about those pgy-2 spots that will hopefully open up in the next few months? any advice on maximizing my chances in the match the second time around? what is a good thing to do and what is not a good thing to do during this prelim year?
finally, will a fresh step II score of 240+ help me this year despite my <220 step I which was the main cause of my downfall last year?
thanks much.
-g

to: G-Love and others that didn't match...

can you give us an indication of what your stats were or what you think might have hindered your acceptance?